angelofboox

It's so hard being young these days! Apparently, I should be getting drunk instead of reading books - as it commands a great deal more respect from my peers. People don't give me odd looks until they start talking to me, at which point they may choose to back away slowly

We had roti and dal. I currently have an apple crumble in the oven. Yes, I know it's 23:30, but there aren't any rules about what time you're allowed to bake things. My mother's gone to the hospital because she's hurting from the car crash she was in yesterday so it shall be served with custard when she returns

I read every word. Though I am tempted to flick to the end sometimes I never do. Except of course, in Deathly Hallows to find out if the Epilogue I'd read online was real (it was). When I was younger we used to have to write book reviews/summaries in a reading journal at school, detailing all the books we'd read. Many people in my class used to read the blurb on the back and then the last few chapters of the book - and then write a page on what the book was about. Cheating!

*sneaks in* Emma was my first Austen too, and I've read it several times as I then had to study it for AS-Level. Though I certainly don't think it's her best, it's thoroughly in Jane Austen style and people seem to either love or hate Emma's character (I love to dislike her). We spent many a lesson (well, one, after a lecture we went to) on the "Is Harriet Emma's sister?" theory, which made us giggle. Mr Knightley, though dashing, always seemed more of a fatherly figure to Emma for me - which is why I think I didn't really like their relationship. I'd think he would have the sense to pick someone a little less...flighty or snobbish. I did like Kell's question asking whether Mr Knightley has any faults though, as I can honestly say I've never really even thought about it. Maybe his fault is that he's in love with Emma, who (in my opinion) doesn't quite fit him (despite the irony being adorable and everything).

"A good reader, a major reader, an active and creative reader is a rereader." There are many delights that come with rereading books. I reread some books several times and hopefully will continue to do so. I like noticing things you didn't see the first time. There are quite a lot of books to be read, so while I love to read new books I don't think we should forget the ones we read before!

I read that a few months ago, and thought it was okay but definitely not the best one yet. And did Minerva just disappear? She seemed like a new character in the last book but didn't feature at all in the latest, as far as I can remember...

Luna's probably one of my favourite characters too. I re-read Deathly Hallows a few weeks ago and I still have mixed feelings towards it (about whether it's good or not, there are parts of it I really like and parts of it I struggle with thinking oh no I have to get through reading this bit again). At least we have Tales of Beedle the Bard to look forward to in a few months.

The Handmaid's Tale was good, I'm not sure I found it particularly disturbing. We did it for our AS-Level coursework (dystopian societies, Handmaid's Tale and Nineteen Eighty-Four). I can't really think of any books at the moment, although I know my mother was disturbed by A Child Called 'It' - the first Dave Pelzer book.

I thought the premise was really good but the second half of the episode seemed very compressed and...somewhat anti-climactic (?) in comparison to most Dr Who episodes. I thought the boy was cute. On researching him I have decided I am not secretly in love with him. *shifty*

What about The Five People You Meet In Heaven, by Mitch Albom? Is death a mature theme? I seem to remember it being fairly short - so it may be possible to read it in a couple of sittings, and I think it would be interesting teens and upwards, if not all ages.

Not a bad batch of literature... Hope you do well! She is indeed off to university as well - come September she will be at the University of Leeds studying Politics and Economics, so she'll be oop North near me.

My class loved An Inspector Calls too, although we disliked writing essays on it. I remember one tiresome task we had was to write the essay "What does the character x contribute to the play?" and I chose Sheila - needless to say, it was a bit half-hearted. In any case, I still thought the play was really good and the ending had us all wondering.

Ooer, A-Level English Lit - I just did mine last year and my sister's doing hers at the moment, she has her last EngLit exam next week! What texts/board are you doing?

Not sure if I can remember them all and I only left school last year... This is the list of stuff I can remember studying in [roughly] chronological order; I did English Literature up to A-Level. Plays: The Granny Project (Anne Fine) A Midsummer Night's Dream (Shakespeare) An Inspector Calls (J.B. Priestley) Macbeth (Shakespeare) The Browning Version (Terrence Rattigan) Romeo and Juliet (Shakespeare) Translations (Brian Friel) King Lear (Shakespeare) 'Tis Pity She's A 'lady of the night' (John Ford) Novels: The Ghost of Thomas Kempe (Penolope Lively) A Pack of Lies (Geraldine McCaugrean) Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry (Mildred D. Taylor) To Kill a Mockingbird (Harper Lee) Emma (Jane Austen) Nineteen Eighty-Four (George Orwell) The Handmaid's Tale (Margaret Atwood) Poetry: Seamus Heaney New Selected Poems 1966-1987 The Nun's Priest's Tale (Chaucer) We did unseen poetry for GCSE and some other stuff I can't remember, as well as a collection of short stories that focused on the role of women. We also studied La Chateau de ma Mere during French A-Level. I feel I've forgotten some things, so I'll edit the list if I remember anything else...

Can anyone say Time Traveler's Wife?

Writing from a blind person's point of view sounds intriguing, I'd like to read Linda's books! (...what are they? ) I'd be interested to know what your favourite books are, Linda, and if/how they influenced your writing in general at all.] EDIT: Sorry for the clichéd question! Just went to the first post of this thread and saw the books she'd written. Silly me! Should have looked first.

I like Claire too. I think it was the right decision to let go of Lucinda. Knew four people were going to be in the final... but the team who loses the next task will be fired. So if Alex and Helene lose it will be between Claire and Lee - and if Claire and Lee lose the choice will be between Alex and Helene. Hmmmmm.

Books to the ceiling, books to the sky, My piles of books are one mile high! How I love them, How I need them, I'll have a long beard by the time I read them! Not my own words, but the words one of the posters that lives on my bedroom wall. Hope I don't grow a beard! Several books to be read...

How coincidental, Atonement and Water For Elephants were the last two books I read for a Book Club I run! I liked Water For Elephants, particularly the bits with the older Jacob - Atonement was good but not as likable, methinks.

Um...Weetabix?

Not read Saturday but I did read Atonement. I agree McEwan's writing holds your attention and has an excellent quality of prose, but I'm still not sure it makes for "interesting" under scrutiny or the greatest literature. Like prospero said, they probably shouldn't be mutually exclusive - it's just unfortunate that sometimes they are! If you have read it here's a spoilerful quick something I wrote after reading it which mentioned what I thought of McEwan's writing.

I've only read Small Island, and I agree, I found it quite good too.

I carry a book most of the time and sometimes people shake their head at me. I like working out things in a book before the characters because it makes me feel clever if someone else hasn't, although frustrating if it's not worked out in the book soon after. I don't try too hard to work things out, but if there's something that obviously NEEDS to be worked out I'll wonder about it (e.g. Part One of Atonement I found the culprit to be obvious although the bit at the end in Part Three just left me sort of apathetic, despite it being unexpected). I take it as a good plot-twist if nobody manages to guess something that all the clues have been left for and then, of course, it's blindingly obvious what the answer is now that you know it and you can't imagine how you didn't see it all along! Off the top of my head one I can think of (unfortunately, some of you may say) is Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, which blew me away when I first read it (although bear in mind I was about ten) because I'd never have figured that one out myself but it all made sense in the end.

The only book I can really remember disliking was Shadowmancer, by G.P.Taylor...although it's been a few years now! Let's hope the next christianity-based fantasy won't follow in its footsteps...

Um...I live in London, where many books are set. I can't really think of specifics. Although the other day I was going down Baker Street, where there appear to be several shops and pubs named in honour of Sherlock Holmes...